AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They'd all been really nice, which had been a shock. As Sam talked highway construction with Karl, I realized there was something really kind of wrong with me if I was shocked people were nice. Nice! What had I expected? I expected them to know that I'd somehow bent over Sam's desk and let him do stuff to me that was probably illegal in Utah and Alabama. I expected them to know I had no panties on.
If they somehow knew—perhaps because of the very satisfied look on Sam's face—they didn't mention it. They were nice. There was that dang word again. People weren't all jackasses in New York, but everyone had a game plan, an agenda. A mental to-do list that didn't include asking after their mother or finding out if their pumpkins were going to be in the State Fair again this summer. Crap, I just described myself.
This feeling of community, of caring, it was odd. It was… nice. Damn.
As we headed toward the back, Sam froze. “Shit,” he whispered.
“What?” I asked, looking around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary other than me stepping into Happy Land.
“Brace yourself. You're strong. You can handle it.” Sam didn't say more, but guided me toward the back booth with a hand at the small of my back.
Dread filled me—for what, I had no idea—but his hand seemed less courteous and more of a preventative measure to keep me from running away.
“Mom,” Sam said.
Oh shit. She would know what we did and think I corrupted him with my slutty, big city ways. Not just her son, but her Jack as well. I’d just let Sam fuck me over his desk while his cousin listened through the speaker phone.
A woman in her early sixties stood and faced Sam, smiled. While he gave her a very warm hug, she smiled at me over his shoulder. She didn't look surprised at all by our arrival.
Of course. I was the reason she was here, not to see Sam. If she lived in town, I had no doubt they saw each other all the time. She wasn't missing him, she didn't want to miss seeing me. What had everyone been saying? I inwardly cringed at what this woman was going to do? Stab me with a butter knife?
I was right, I was her sole focus, because she nudged Sam out of the way to get to me. It wasn't hard to do, for while she was a foot shorter, she was sturdy and I was sure she'd run roughshod over him a time or two. She had short dark hair, gray strands attractively threaded throughout, and a quick smile.
“I'm Violet, Sam’s mother and Jack’s aunt.”
I held out my hand—it was definitely sweaty and I wiped it on my pants first—and she shook it, but then pulled me in for a hug, my arms trapped at my sides. “Honey, we hug everyone around here.”
She was warm and soft and smelled of flowers. Her embrace was heartfelt and it was nice. I couldn't remember the last time—or ever—my mother hugged me. And yet I was a stranger to this woman and she pulled me right on in. Were people crazy here, or was it me?
“How did you know where to find us?” Sam asked.
Violet waved her hand. “Katie's in town to deal with Charlie's estate. She met with you to get the legal paperwork signed and of course she'll want to sell the house. Selling the house means meeting Sally Martin and Sally Martin always eats lunch at the same time and the same place. It was simple logic.”
“Of course it was,” Sam murmured, the corner of his mouth tipping up. He offered me a quick glance, but said nothing. What could he say besides run?
“Sit… sit, or we'll never eat,” Sally commanded. “You know how my blood sugar gets.” The blond woman at the table had to be Sally. Where Violet was all baked cookies and flower gardens, Sally was all dual wheel pickup truck and hunting rifles.
Violet didn't even blink at the other woman's sass, but sat back down and slid into the booth across from her friend. Sam gestured for me to sit beside Sally and when I did, he took the place next to his mom.
“Heard you two had a date last night.”
I flushed red and Sam thanked the waitress for his glass of water. Either he'd had enough one night stands to be unaffected by such questions or he was a natural at faking it. “If
you two know everything, why are we even meeting?” he asked.
If she knew everything, I’d be run out of town.
“Well, it's been awhile since you and Jack had a woman together,” Violet said.
I almost choked on my spit.
“Mom, that sounds completely inappropriate,” Sam scolded, completely unfazed by his mother.
“I didn't mean it that way,” Violet replied, then glanced to me. “It's been over ten years since you two were interested in a woman together. Your fathers and I are pleased. For you, and Jack.”
“Fathers?” I asked, looking at Sam. “You have two dads, too?” God, he had said one of his dads had had a heart attack, but I hadn’t processed it. It was just so dang weird.
“Oh yes, dear,” Violet answered for him. “I married Tom and Harris Kane almost forty years ago.”
